War
by Crystal di Angelo
Summary: Part of the Salty Ice Crystals series, sequel to Time. Asgard is at war, Loki returns with the Avengers, and on Earth things get messier. The Council overrides Fury and the Chitauri threatens Jane Foster. All in all, well, just the chaos of war.
1. Back in Asgard

_**MY EXAMS ARE FINALLY OVER!**_

_**AND I FINALLY GOT RID OF THAT STUPID FEVER!**_

_**So now I'm up and ready to be updating again~I really missed you guys.**_

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_**Response to reviews (from my previous fic, Time):**_

_**Gammawidow67: Yes, he has been turned back to an age one year before Thor's coronation. Ahaha, and its thanks to you for the tip telling me to let Bruce Hulk out in Asgard…uncontrolled. Yeah, I figured that I had to kill a few significant characters. Loki's not out of the list yet. **_

_**Justme (Guest): Oh, you were sick? I hope you're okay now. Yeah, orientation sucks. In my opinion, anyway. You get to listen to people saying things that one can very well figure out for himself or herself. Wow, thanks for the new list of fics! I will be surprised if I manage to finish them before July. Well, I'm sort of really canon (except for Harry Potter, I'm open to all possibilities in that one) so I don't really ship Loki with anything/anyone. I've read a few fics like that but I didn't really enjoy it. For one, I already didn't like Sif in the movies because she's kind of sorta infatuated with Thor. I don't know whether it's just my imagination or anything, it's just my personal opinion. I'm killing off more people though, just be forewarned. **_

_**Justme (Guest) :I couldn't PM you on the other two stories you reviewed, so I had to reply here. Hope you don't mind. Anyway, thanks for reading them! I know my writing was terrible (still is) then, but somehow I never put my heart into deleting them, especially The Green Sky. Holy cows, I'm so mortified at my twelve-year old writing. Even my thirteen year old writing too. Hope that you find I've improved, no matter how little. You were right, we don't have that holiday here, but thanks anyway!**_

_**Guys, sorry if this story turns out to be too similar to With Friends Like These, but really, it's such a nice story that it's seeping into my writing and plot too.**_

_**Kudos to those who got the Frozen references.**_

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_Salty Ice Crystals_

_War_

_Chapter 1: Back in Asgard_

* * *

Thor couldn't believe it. His little brother, that lived through centuries by Thor's side and been through so much, just couldn't be dead. _Dead._ As in, no pulse, no heartbeat, no warmth, no life. No mischievous glint in those emerald eyes that will never sparkle again. No more pranks or green magic curling to life in those limp hands. No more tears, laughter or joy from the motionless body in front of him. The body in front him was Loki's, but it wasn't Loki. Loki shouldn't be so motionless. Loki was always on the move, like he had too much pent up energy in his body, twiddling his fingers, wriggling his toes, fiddling with a quill…

Thor choked down a sob, uncaring of the ice cold water that still soaked his sleeves. He heard Stark saying something about a Midgardian sickness called something like, 'hypotirmia', but he didn't care. How could he care, when Loki was just…nothing?

He could feel the Captain's gentle hands trying to get him off the ice, onto safer ground, onto the places where Loki's magic yet hovered, marking the red and blue spots. Marking the places that are safe for Thor to walk upon.

Too late. If only Thor had reached there faster, and not hesitated about sticking his arms into the water for a second, Loki might be still alive.

The doctor was murmuring something to him in a soothing voice, imploring him to get somewhere safer.

Thor blindly followed, only because it would be something that Loki would want.

It was something that Loki gave his life for.

Thor took one last look at the body, and as if his gaze somehow added weight to Loki's body, the ice crumbled and Loki's corpse went along with it.

Thor couldn't even cry this time.

His tears had already frozen into salty ice crystals at the corner of his eyes.

All these suffering, all these journeys, had been for nothing. Loki still died, and in the middle of a frozen lake, with his heritage revealed for all to see.

His comrades started patting his back, murmuring meaningless words. Bruce and Steve and somehow started crying, and Tony was just rambling, in shock.

Then Thor saw air bubbles float to the top of the water.

He did not know whether it was just his deranged imagination or simply sheer hope or a miracle had happened.

But that small but significant discovery changed Thor's life.

* * *

Time trickled by.

Natasha's hair became unkempt, Clint's uniform had stains all over it. Both of them hardly spoke anymore, for fear that the cameras they knew were in the corners would be able to somehow turn their conversations against them.

Natasha's period came and went. She spent the duration of it soaking up the blood with a jacket, probably not the most hygienic choice, but her choices were limited. Sometimes she just talked to herself in rapid Russian, just enjoying the fact that she would be annoying them, who could speak and listen to Russian well, but had never heard it spoke at full speed by a Russian. They would be scrambling like mad for a translator, and Natasha smiled contentedly, imagining that scene where they saw her smile and assumed that she had a plan and something had somehow gone with it.

The assassin's worst fears came true a few days after her period ended. The Council was really planning to make them crack with isolation. Clint was taken to a separate cell. He fought, of course, and even broke a few bones, but the Indian man tasered him while Natasha was busy trying to break his neck from behind, legs wrapped around his torso. She managed to rip half of his hair out, and kneed him in the groin quite painfully, and tried to escape, but they had anticipated this-the door had automatically locked itself as soon as they were inside. Clint took advantage of the distraction Natasha provided by pretending to pick the lock even though they both knew it wasn't her strong suit to steal the keys, but the Chinese lady dumped the pail they used for relieving themselves on his head and promptly turned the taser to full power and tasering the archer.

Escape attempt #Natasha couldn't even count# failed.

The Indian man twisted both her arms behind her back and ripped out a few strands of her red but dirty hair in revenge, before flinging her onto the cold floor and exiting before Natasha could rebound back and use the leverage to knock him over.

They were well trained, Natasha had to admit that. But she didn't have to like them, or respect them for it.

Not when they're using their skills for the wrong party.

Natasha wasn't sure what she could do now without Clint. When Clint was still with her, even if they didn't talk, there was still this sense of companionship between them, but now, there was only emptiness.

With nothing else to do, Natasha put her spying skills to good use.

The trickle of information never bored her, though she was still lonely.

She learned that the Chinese lady's name was GuiZhu, and when it was spoken with a Chinese accent, it actually sounded quite beautiful. The Indian man's name was harder to pronounce, but he was named Rajuthumagili a/l Parameswara. They came from Southeast Asia, the Chinese lady from Malaysia and the Indian man from Philippines. The Chinese lady had a lover back at home, but the Indian man was quite smitten with her. GuiZhu starting working for the Council because they saved her life when she was sixteen, and she felt that she had to repay them somehow. Rajuthumagili, Raju in short form, worked for the Council only because they offered him shelter, food and money, nothing more. If Natasha wanted to bribe someone, Raju would be the ideal choice.

Aside from the personal information on her two guards that were constantly rotating shifts, Natasha also learned some news of the outside world.

The planets had been eerily quiet, as if they were awaiting something to happen. Not one meteorite had crashed into Earth since that crucial day, not even into the sea. It was as if the universe was holding its breath, waiting. For what, they were still speculating.

Natasha developed a habit of throwing a small portion of her food aside. Anything could be turned into a weapon, her mentor and friend Agent Coulson had taught her. The people on the other side of the camera would be confused, and that was the only way Natasha could torment them with now.

From various eavesdropping sessions, she learned that the Council planned to lock them away for a year before taking them out and making them reveal their entire lives to them. No information would go amiss.

A year.

Two months and Natasha was already going half insane. How was she expected to survive an entire year?

Whatever valuable information she _did_ have would definitely be wormed out of her. Natasha was used to loneliness, yes, but humans have been scientifically proven as animals that live in a herd, and psychologists have theories which revolve around what would happen if a human is isolated for a long period of time. They all vary, but all agree on one thing: The results won't be pretty.

In one, the victim becomes incoherent and rambles aimlessly without any sort of thought to what he or she was saying.

Natasha didn't want to become one of them.

Of course, those theories were untested, and most likely the not-so-scary theories could happen too, like depression or split personality disorder once the victim starts talking to himself or herself.

Natasha didn't want that either.

But she can't really help it, could she?

Natasha looked at her growing pile of rotting food.

And an idea struck her.

* * *

The two armies clashed with mighty roars. The first blood flew, splattering the faces of anyone nearby. The Asgardians snarled, pressing in, driven by hate and grief. They moved at speeds previously thought impossible, and the thought of their dead and beloved female warrior fueled their strikes. Enemy after enemy fell. Queen Frigga quickly disappeared into the castle so that she could cast her enchantments in peace and with nothing to distract her. King Odin did his best to control his troops and devise a strategy which mostly consisted of improvising, since he didn't really have much time. Asgard's army had acted impulsively, but it also gave them the element of surprise.

The Warriors Three killed like they were possessed by the demons of war. Roaring and yelling, they fought a bloody path towards the line of archers, which quaked with fear and shot arrows towards the Warriors, but Queen Frigga had anticipated their reaction and placed a shielding spell on them once she found privacy. It was weak, and admittedly not as good as she would like it to be, but it did a good job of diverting enough arrows in time for the Warriors Three to crush all their skulls. Breathing heavily, Hogun stared at the massive ship on the horizon that was just behind the archers. Thanos sat somewhere in there, he knew, and wasn't even breaking a sweat over thousands of his soldiers being killed, knowing that there would be more soldiers on their way to take the dead's place.

Volstagg boiled with rage, and charged towards the ship with a mighty cry. But ten feet short of it, an invisible force field fried him with electricity and threw him twice that distance backwards, into the throng of soldiers.

"Volstagg!" Fandral yelled, fighting his way back into the crowd, though being extra careful not to step on the prone body he was protecting. "Hogun, I need your help! Guard me while I help him!"

Hogun snapped to attention, tossing an explosive substance in the direction of the ship and running towards the spot without turning back. A wave of heat emanated from the spot, nearly scorching Hogun's skin had he not been fast enough. Turning back, Hogun was just in time to see that it hadn't worked. A blue ripple passed through the force field before it became invisible again. Gritting his teeth, Hogun brought his sword down to let out some of the pent up anger. Again and again the blade met flesh. Again and again the blade spilt blood that painted the ground red.

"Hogun!" Fandral shouted. "Tell Sif to-oh, no, just, you know more about medical help, so, just, take over. I'll guard you."

Hogun thrust his sword into a nearby Chitauri, letting in remain there and fell to his knees beside his fallen friend.

Volstagg wasn't breathing.

Hogun did the only thing he could think of. Slamming both fists into Volstagg's chest repeatedly, hoping to kickstart the heart, he shouted, "Food! Boiled eggs with stuffed chicken! Roasted turkey! Fresh loaves of bread! Beef cooked over a campfire!" He continued to desperately rattle off any kind of food he could think of.

If they were under normal circumstances, Fandral would have laughed and joked that this was the largest amount of words he had ever heard Hogun spout at the same time. But the circumstances were too dire, the situation too dangerous. They would jest about it later, at the victory feast where there would be pretty maidens and lovely serving girls attending to his every need. They _will_ have a victory feast.

Volstagg jerked awake, only long enough to cough up some blood mixed with saliva before his heartbeat faltered again and faded out completely.

"NO!" Hogun lost his quiet and calm composure. "Volstagg, you WILL WAKE."

It was quite out of character for the young warrior (in Asgardian standards), but no one cared. The Asgardian warriors, sensing distress, formed a circle around them and another party fought their way through with healers in tow.

But Volstagg had stopped breathing.

Thanos' manic cackle cut the air.

_No one breaches my force field, pets. Let him be the eighty trillionth person to be sacrificed to my beloved. _

Nothing but silence and the dying screeches of the Chitauri.

Another ship descended from the sky.

Fandral grabbed Volstagg's axe and flung it at the new ship. Even though it should be impossible for even Asgardians to have that kind of arm strength, the bond between the Warriors Three was unbreakable. But now they would be known as the Warriors Two instead. That was enough to make the axe embed itself in the ship's hull, and slowly, the whole ship split open, all the Chitauri within falling to death before even catching sight of what had caused their abrupt death.

Fandral heaved heavy breaths, looking at the havoc he had caused. "For you, my friend Volstagg."

Hogun bowed his head.

First Sif, now Volstagg. Would this tragedy ever end?

There was only one way to end this terrible war.

"Thanos." He said, loudly and clearly. "I challenge you to a fight. Between you and me, with only weapons and without magic."

Fandral gawped at him and Hogun knew that there was no turning back as Thanos stepped from the first ship, a sinister smile on his lips.

"So the Warriors Two decide to change their name to Single Warrior, eh? Very well. I take up your challenge."

* * *

"This is scientifically impossible. Logically too. Universally too. Ok, biblically that's possible, but I mean, you call yourself Norse gods, so I guess that's definitely impossible. How-"

"Shut up, Stark."

The small portion of Avengers lapsed into silence as they watched Loki cough and struggle to get the excess water out of his lungs, Thor supporting him gently, a hand on his back. Loki looked scared, and confused, and…younger?

"Bro-brother?" Loki stuttered through chattering teeth. "What am I doing here? Shouldn't we be at the rehearsal of your coronation?"

Thor frowned. "My coronation? Loki, how old are you?"

Loki frowned as Bruce tossed a blanket over him. "My, brother, are you that foolish? Of course I'm 1689 years old this year. And who are they?" Loki gestured subtly at Tony, Steve and Bruce.

"They are friends. Warriors of Midgard."

Loki's brow creased. He had visited Midgard many times before, but Midgard had given him no reason for Thor to be so friendly with their warriors. That means that Midgard must have come far in the past year for the mighty Thor to deem it worthy of his attention. "I see. Why are we on…" Loki looked around him and was only more confused. "Jotunheim? Thor, please tell me that you didn't knock me out and drag me here to fight the Jotunn. You were only kidding yesterday, right?"

"Er, well…" Thor looked for a way to explain and found none. "I will explain later. Wait here, I will see what I can get to make some hot stew to warm you up."

"Go then." Loki nodded.

Luck was with him, for not fifty feet from their spot, Thor spotted a snow bunny hopping away. Who knew Jotunheim could hold life so small and cute? Thor quickly chased after it, but once his hammer came down upon its head, it dissipated with flecks of green magic. Thor's eyes widened. Loki.

Cursing, Thor returned to the campsite where he found Loki holding a small knife and had his back pressed to an ice wall, facing his friends, who were doing their best to explain that they meant no harm.

Thor neared them and advanced even as Loki aimed his dagger at him. "Don't come a step closer! I rarely miss my mark and you would be wise to tell me where is my brother and what kind of magic you are using to impersonate him!"

Thor chuckled. "You never miss your mark, Loki. Your brother is right here, right in front of you. I am using no magic. You know very well that I am far too simple for the intricate makings of magic."

Loki looked suspicious. "You don't sound nor feel like my brother. Thor is an…" He closed his eyes. "Ignorant, foolish, lumbering, rash but lovable oaf. You seem like an older version of him, which would be impossible. Which only leaves one possibility: You are doing a really bad job of impersonating him."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Look, Thor, you'd better handle this. I'm outta here. Loki is way harder to handle than Steve, and he got frozen for seventy years. Loki only, what, went back in time for a few years?"

Steve was more understanding. "Well, Stark, _you_ would be disoriented and confused as well if it were you seeing Pepper with white hair and wrinkles."

Thor frowned. "I don't have white hair."

"Now you do." Loki smirked.

Thor quickly reached up to check his hair and glowered at Loki once he discovered that it was snow white.

Tony couldn't help it. He burst out laughing and eventually Bruce joined him with a chuckle. Steve was doing his best to suppress his laughter for Thor's sake but failed miserably.

Loki crossed his arms. "See? My brother would have flung Mjolnir at me for such an insult but you just…glare. And it isn't really intimidating."

"Ooh, burn." Tony grinned, wiping away his tears of laughter and clutching his now aching midsection. "Man, that was a good one, buddy. I want you as my partner!"

"Partner as in?" Loki looked at him suspiciously. Finally, they were revealing their true intentions of bringing him here.

"A prank war." Tony grinned.

Steve groaned. Bruce facepalmed.

A devilish smile spread across Loki's face. They didn't call him the God of Mischief for nothing. "Done."

"Excellent! Well, now how are we supposed to go back?" Tony clapped his hands together.

"You yet still need to prove your trustworthiness." Loki narrowed his eyes. "But yes, I believe I have enough magic required to transport us to Asgard, the closest realm to Jotunheim."

"Not Midgard?" Tony whined.

Loki smiled. "I am able to, but I wouldn't just to irk you."

"So that was how he earned his title." Bruce remarked. "Thor, your brother really seems normal."

"Normal? As in I wasn't before?"

"Well, hardly any one of us can be considered normal, can we?" Steve hurried to cover up. "Well, Loki, do your stuff then."

Loki uttered one word. "_Transportere._"

A bright green flash of light enveloped them.

When they reappeared in Thor's old room, only Thor and Steve were left standing, Steve albeit a little confused on what was occurring, but he already had seen and tried many strange and fascinating objects in the twenty-first century, so he just accepted what was happening without a question. Tony and Bruce were on the ground, Bruce recovering fast while Tony was just trying not to puke. Loki leaned against the bedpost, eyes closed and hands braced against the ground. Thor realized that transporting them from a secret pathway between the realms to a place that, if now at war, would be heavily warded and enchanted was not going to be the best for Loki's health.

"Brother?" He asked tentatively, placing a hand on Loki's thin shoulder. Loki flinched so hard that Thor snatched his hand back again.

"My apologies, brother." Thor didn't know what to say. "Have I somehow offended you?"

Loki shook his head, breathing hard. "You…just caught…me off guard. I assure…you that there's…nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? I'm sorry, Loki, but it seems that you have somehow overtaxed yourself. Get on Thor's bed and sleep. Get some rest." Steve ordered. When Loki didn't move he glared some more to get his point across and Thor just lifted Loki onto the bed bodily. Grumbling, Loki cast them all a suspicious eye before disappearing under the covers.

"Okay, Thor, go out and check what's going on. They should receive you well, given that you're the Crown Prince and all. Stark, go with him, in case someone asks him about something they shouldn't know and Thor doesn't know how to lie. You can cover up for him. Bruce should stay here, just in case. I'll stay here too, more than one Midgardian in this place might not bode well. Stark, bring your suit in case they require any flashy moves from you to prove your worth." Steve's leadership was showing as he fired off commands. Tony left with some grumbling to retrieve his suit. Thor tenderly tucked Loki in. The mischief god cracked one eye open and gave a mock groan, but allowed it. How long had it been since Thor had acted so gentle with him? Rest came easily, for something deep down told him that this Thor was to be trusted. Loki dozed off, letting his magic replenish itself and letting his body getting sufficient rest and a break from being pummeled by Thor and the Warriors Three including Lady Sif.

Once Thor and Tony left, Steve sat down by the side of Loki's bed. "Well, do you want to find out what you did by yourself or I'll break it to you as gently as possible? If you want your rest it can wait but I still think you should know."

"I'm listening." Came Loki's muffled voice. "Tell me."

"Bruce? I might need your help." Steve called, and started, "Well, I don't really know much, and you probably should talk to Thor, but from what I gathered from him, is that you're not of Asgard."

Loki's mind whirred. Not of Asgard, then maybe Alfheim? He did have a natural affinity for magic after all…but Svartalfheim was possible too. Even Jotunheim. Dear Norns, he really hoped that it was Alfheim. He quite liked the royal family there after all.

Then the shock set in. "Wha-what? I-I'm not Thor's brother? Nor Fathe-Odin's son? Not Mother's son? Then where am I from?"

"Don't be shocked, okay?" Bruce said, leading Loki to expect the worst. "Jotunheim."

Steve could feel his heart slowly breaking into tiny, teeny pieces as Loki's face slowly crumpled and the dark haired prince instinctively curled into a little ball. "Why-no…this isn't happening, I can't be Jotun, lies lies lies…"

"Loki?" Steve tried to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but it was flung off wildly. "No! Don't touch me! I'll hurt you!"

"Loki." Steve said gently. "We've been in contact with your Jotun form before, and it didn't hurt us. To tell the truth, Bruce and I think it's beautiful, and Tony says it's the most amazing thing he's ever seen before. Thor doesn't think any less of you for it."

"NO!" Loki shrank away from them like _they _were the ones who had the burning touch.

"Loki, please. Let us finish." Bruce tried to calm him down. "Or I'll have to subdue you with physical force."

Loki quietened, breath still hitching with sobs.

"You found out at the worst possible time, when Thor had been banished to Midgard to learn a lesson for leading an attack against the Jotunn on his coronation day and your Father was indisposed. You were forced to take over the throne while your mind was still in turmoil. So, well, you made some wrong choices." Steve said. "We all make wrong choices, Loki, but it doesn't define what you are. A monster doesn't exist. Monsters cannot feel, they don't cry, they don't strive for approval. You're definitely not one."

"What did I do?" Loki asked fearfully.

"You…kinda sent down the Destroyer to hinder Thor, but you didn't know that he was weaker in his mortal body and your brother nearly died. He was saved in time though. You also brought the Jotunn to Asgard with their King." Bruce said, wincing.

Loki's eyes boggled. "I what?!"

"You were confused." Steve quickly added. "There's no way you can change that now anyway.

_You cannot change what is past. But you may yet affect the future._

Loki's brows furrowed. "Go on."

"Are you sure? We could wait, you know…"

"I would rather find out while I have the chance." Loki snapped.

"Okay…so, anyway, it was all a plan to kill Laufey, destroy Jotunheim and prove yourself to Odin that you were a worthy son but Thor arrived in time to thwart Jotunheim's destruction. So, the two of you fell off the rainbow bridge and…ugh, here comes the part I hate most. I still dislike Odin for it." Steve said, making a face.

"You wanted Odin's approval, you told him that you could have done it for him, for all of you." Bruce's voice cracked a little. "But Odin told you no."

"And I fell." Loki said quietly.

"And you fell." Steve confirmed.

"You somehow plucked an army out of nowhere there, and then you attacked our realm." Bruce chipped in. "We still don't believe that you're fully yourself then though."

"What happened to make you think that way?" Loki asked, curious.

"You threw up some blue wacky stuff." Tony cut in, closing the door behind him. Seeing their curious glances, he said, "Thor's in the battlefield. He's trying to find their-your-his-the Allfather." Tony finally settled on the last title as a surprising show of tact.

"What?" Loki asked sharply. "Did I refuse to acknowledge them during…those times?"

Steve decided that it was time for honesty, since lies had already ruined Loki once. "Yes."

Loki's face was perfectly blank. "Oh. Please go on." _Wait. Battlefield?_

"I'll do it." Tony offered, seeing as he was the best with telling the truth but making it sound funny and strange all at the same time. "Well, you see, to get those strange thingy out of you completely we had to go to the Norns. Not the best idea you had, by the way. You nearly scared Thor out of his hammer, falling into ice and all that. Anyway, we traveled the Nine Realms, which still isn't as awesome as Earth, they don't have fine brandy and JARVIS anyway, oh wait, Jotunheim did, at least for a well, and you imitate a drunk person really well, well, JARVIS does, but only under your control-"

"Who's JARVIS?" Loki asked, bewildered but a bit cheered up by the sudden rambling.

"My AI, kind of an invisible butler, I'll introduce you both and let him give the sciency explanation to you later when you meet. Anyway, you somehow snuck off to meet the Norns on your own, and we still have no idea what happened, and Thor was making a storm, big one, then you suddenly woke up deaged and well, you know what happened next." Tony finished.

"That's the gist of it." Bruce confirmed. "But we, as in the three of us and Thor, plus two more you will meet when we get back to Earth, are the Avengers. We were created to stop you from subjugating Earth and well, you put up quite a fight, considering it was six of us versus you."

"Wait." Loki interrupted. "None of you mentioned anything about a _war_."

"Well, the war-wait, how do you figure that one out?" Steve said.

Loki sighed. "Obviously, since you were talking about one as if I were not there."

"Er, the war's about Thanos. He's the guy that put the blue wacky stuff into you, by the way. Oh, and did I mention that he's crazy about Death? Supposedly your daughter Hela?" Tony suddenly remembered the connection.

"Well, yeah. I need to have a talk with her when I get the chance. Hopefully be a better father than Odin." Loki grimaced.

"Actually, I think you did. You died at that creepy Orc's hand in Sven. Wait, Sven's the reindeer! Wait, does that mean I can call you Sven, Reindeer Games?" Tony grinned at the discovery of a new nickname.

"_No._" Loki by now already had a pretty fair grasp on Tony's personality.

Just then, Thor barreled in. Through the ceiling.

"Ill news, I fear!" He bellowed. "Thanos is battling Hogun!"

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_**Wait till the next chapter~XD**_

_**Up next: Natasha creates a weapon out of the most unlikely thing ever, Hogun's fight with Thanos, Loki sees his mother, the rest of the Avengers on Asgard do battle, one dies. After Loki's talk with Frigga they go down to see Hogun's fal-wait, I'm giving away too much. Ahahaha I'm just plain evil.**_


	2. Hogun's Duel

_**Response to reviews:**_

_**LokiisAwesome: Thanks for reviewing again! Well, you'll find out who dies this chapter. I, killer of ***__**censored spoiler**__*** will regret nothing. Muahahaha.**_

_**Justme (Guest): Thanks for reviewing again! Well, Loki won't meet Thanos that soon, probably next chapter. And Loki won't be traumatized because he's never met Thanos before, but Thanos will gloat. Definitely. Since Loki has absolutely no idea of what he's talking about, he will be able to sneak in a few surprise attacks but-oops, gave away too much. Anyway, about the names, I'm not sure on how do I put the pronunciations, but I can give you the actual words of the Chinese name: **__**贵珠**__**. I'm not Indian, even though I have a faint inkling of it, but I cannot guarantee that the way I say it will be correct. The Indian name should be no problem, just pronounce it with an Asian way. The Chinese, however, you can try Google Translate with the Chinese characters above. Hope a Kindle can do that. I really wish I can go to your graduation party. I've never been to a real party before (Asian, remember? Conservative and all that stuff?) and the only ones I've seen are in movies (especially Iron Man) so I would really like the experience. Anyway, congratulations! I know parties are hard work, that's why even my family doesn't do them (my family is more Western-ish than others, which explains why I'm here). Wow, you plant too? I used to, but the house had to undergo renovations and at the end of it all the soil had tiles over them. Sigh. About the prompt, I'm honored but no, I don't watch the BBC Sherlock Holmes for one reason: We don't have BBC. Sorry to disappoint you. All I know about that is Benedict Cumberbatch (please don't kill me if the spelling is wrong) and that's because sometimes the Tom Hiddleston pages I follow post some things about him. And I thoroughly agree with you-you need an account. That's easier to exchange ideas through PM and I don't have to update like mad to just talk to you. *grins* By the way, do you have Facebook? My friends created a Percy Jackson group called Olympus Worldwide and we are very lacking in members so if you have an account, are you interested in joinng?**_

_**Gammawidow67: Nah, they just become the Warriors *censored spoiler*. Again, you have to read it yourself. Thanks for reviewing again! No, I'm not killing off Steve or Tony, but I think the one who does that will upset you, seeing your penname. Anyhow, I'm making your penname come true. Seriously. A gamma widow. No pun there. I'm dead serious. But you're getting your Hulk out in this chapter.**_

_**So. I'm really disappointed with myself. Two weeks of holidays, and all I can give you is this? Seriously? Well, one week. Next week is going to be the second week, then we're going on trips with NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES. Hurray. So no updates for you wonderful guys until school reopens and then updates will be hindered by school work and all that stuff. Yay. Anyway, hope you enjoy. **_

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_Salty Ice Crystals_

_War_

_Chapter 2: Hogun's Duel_

* * *

Natasha covered the cameras with potato peels and set to work. Her hands flew, quick and deft, since they would check on her once they discovered the cameras had been covered and became suspicious. She grabbed the oranges and mixed them with crab meat. Some food she even mixed with urine to make them more acidic. That done, she bit a nicely sized hole in an apple and dumped all the juice into it, careful not to let it touch her hands. Coulson would be proud. After all, he was the one who sees a weapon in everything. Natasha sealed the apple with some vegetables just as the door opened and GuiZhu stepped in. Quick as lightning, Natasha flung the apple grenade at her, her face barely having a moment to register surprise as the vegetables rotted under the acid and sprayed the contents onto her face. Screaming in pain, she went down, hands clutching at her face. Natasha placed a well aimed blow to the back of her head, effectively stunning her, and quickly searched the places an agent would be most likely to hide things. Raju would stop by soon, but Natasha had confidence that she could overpower him by sheer force of will, if nothing else. She unearthed a wallet, an identification card and a notebook. Stuffing them into her back pocket, Natasha left the room only to bump into Raju.

"_Mana kau pergi?_" He asked roughly in Malay, grabbing her arm. Natasha kicked his groin, catching him off guard, and kneaded him in the stomach, just enough to wind him. Brute strength had never been Natasha's strength, but she did what was necessary. Once he opened his mouth to gasp, Natasha shoved the second apple down his throat.

The man gagged, trying to choke it up, but Natasha ruthlessly plugged his nostrils with two fingers, using the swallow reflex. Predictably, Raju swallowed to get air and immediately regretted it as the acid burnt him inside out.

The alarms rang. Raju must have a button on him somewhere to activate them. Natasha acted fast, grabbing the keys which he kept in plain sight on his belt just to taunt them. Well, who's taunting who now?

She whistled a tune that only she and Clint knew, and faintly heard the answering tune from behind a metal door two feet away. Natasha sprinted to the door, checked for any rigged traps or bombs before sliding the key in with a click. The door opened to reveal Clint, bedraggled and dirty, but that old spark was back in his eyes.

They needed no words, working in a coordinated formation. Natasha checked every room for things they could use as weapons while Clint stood guard, taking down any agent that crossed their way. They found a map in the fifth room, a Glock in the twelfth room which Natasha used and a sniper rifle in the last room they passed before they finally found the door.

Not to say that they didn't meet trouble outside, but armed and on guard, the duo could take on an army and win. If they went down, they would be sure that they took as many as they could with them.

However, they hadn't considered the sentiment that would be their downfall. Natasha knocked out a close friend, her occasional partner if Clint wasn't around. Clint had hesitated before delivering the final blow to a once close co-worker, the one who automatically fetched coffee for Clint without having him to open his mouth, and the one who designed the first of Clint's explosive arrows. Thankfully, they made it out without having to sever too much ties. Natasha let Clint pick the car's lock, firing into the agents heading for them as a warning for them not to come closer. She heard her friend, the one who recommended the best hair lotion for her, report into a secure phone. "They have escaped. Using car identified as Agent Michael Reed's, from the technical level." As they fled in that blue unmarked car.

"So," Natasha said, voice hoarse from not speaking in two months, tongue stumbling over the words. "What do we do now?"

"We run." Clint said grimly. His hands were white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly. They were lucky that the car windows had shades, which prevented the other people from seeing how disheveled they were. "Until they can't track us, can't find us, when we're out of their grasp. Then we figure out what's going on and find a way to contact the rest if they're still alive." She didn't sugar coat her words. They both knew. "Then we find alliances. Find Fury. Talk to him. Figure out what's going on. Make a plan to get out of this mess. Get out of this mess."

It seemed a simple enough list when it was still in theory, but when put into practice, even running seems hard to do. The tank was low on petrol, the sun was setting, they needed a safe place to relocate to where SHIELD or the Council could track them. They also had to stay away from HYDRA and Justin Hammer. Hammer would love this opportunity to seize Stark Industries with blackmail.

In the end, as Clint aimlessly drove in the direction of the setting sun, the car just died on them.

"What the-" Clint cursed, twisting the key roughly. When that elicited no response, he just cursed more and pulled the key out. "We'll have to walk."

"To where?" Natasha asked, a backpack on her lap. While Clint was driving, she had taken the liberty of checking the back seats for anything that might prove useful. She even took apart the material to see into the hood. Michael did not disappoint. Apart from lots of food rations and water, there was also an emergency secure cell phone, a blank notebook, a wallet, stationary, three guns, two knives and a grenade. She found a backpack at the bottom of the hood and stored everything in it after making sure that it wasn't rigged with a location transmitter of the sorts.

Clint shrugged, sharp eyes scanning the hills. "We could stay in the forest for a while. Somewhere close to civilization. We could buy a house. Ruse 47."

Ruse 47 was them posing as a newly married couple, looking for a quiet place to stay away from all the hustle and bustle to enjoy their marriage for a few years before they moved out and rented it to someone else or sold it. It was their favorite too, but no one voiced it, for they secretly wanted that to be real some day, but knew that it could never happen.

"Agreed. Some small town like…over there." Natasha pointed.

Behind the hill they were walking over, lay a small town, not five miles wide. It looked halfway modern, the kind that doesn't have mud huts but nice fields, no tall buildings but lots of shops. The ideal hideaway spot.

They put all the necessary stuff into two backpacks which they slung casually over their shoulders, tidied themselves the best they could in a stream, and walked towards the nearest home mortgage service shop, linking their hands together and putting on their best 'we just got married and we don't care if the sun goes out as long as we are together' expression. To tell the truth, that expression wasn't a lie either.

They walked into the air conditioned store. "Hi." Clint said, smiling charmingly at the clerk, only to receive an elbow in the waist from Natasha and Clint gave her a peck on the lips. "Sorry, hon."

The clerk smiled. "Ah. A couple, then? Looking for a new house to settle in?"

"Yes, miss." Natasha said politely. "Please excuse my husband's flamboyant behavior, you know how men are, always forgetting that they're already married."

"Of course, of course." The clerk tittered, pulling out files. "What's your budget?"

They looked at each other, mentally calculating. Finally, Natasha said, "Can it be paid separately? Like, a thousand bucks a month?"

The clerk smiled, eyes the color of warm chocolate. "Of course, dearies. Here, I've got the perfect honeymoon deal for you. Look. It's at the edge of the town, it's even got a beautiful view of the sun setting between the hills. You can pay in advance three thousand bucks, and deliver the thousand bucks by cash each month."

Clint pulled out the wallet and flipped through it, locating the credit card. With luck, it wouldn't be blocked, since it looked like a personal one, and he was fairly certain that S.H.I.E.L.D. did not know about this. Every agent has their own dirty little secret that they chose to hide from S.H.I.E.L.D., and it usually was money just in case S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to fire them and they had no place to go. Clint's was a small credit card that he unfortunately did not have access to right now. The Council had confiscated that once they checked Clint's bow and discovered that small secret compartment.

He did not know Natasha's fail safe. He did not need to.

Clint handed the credit card to the clerk, nudging Natasha playfully as she scanned it.

_Let's hope he has enough dough._

* * *

Hogun wanted to go down with honor, glaring defiantly at the enemy until the end, but it was near impossible, for Hogun's eyes were nearly burned blind when he tried to make eye contact with Thanos. Great. How was he to fight a foe if he could not even look at it for fear of going blind?

Thanos was pure darkness, and his essence seemed to be the most pronounced in his eyes, which was why one look in them and one might never see again. But this was not Hogun's concern. He gripped his mace tightly, shrinking a little from the towering figure despite his best efforts. Other than darkness, Thanos also radiated pure _fear_. It was not that Hogun had never experienced fear before, he'd had his fair share of it. Fear of a comrade dying (lots already had), irrational fears in his youth that frost giants might come to kidnap him (they did, one time, but that's a story for another time), fear that he might get killed and not live to see another day (one he was experiencing now, obviously), fear of Ragnarok (who doesn't fear that?) but this was a whole new thing. He couldn't explain its origin, and that was what frightened him the most. He didn't know what was going on with his own mind. What on the Nine Realms had possessed him to challenge Thanos?

Too late to back off now.

Thanos struck the first blow. Technically, it was not considered a blow, for it was laughing. Laughing that the universe might fall with a flick of his finger. Laughter that bubbled deep from the core of darkness.

But it struck a deep blow mentally to Hogun. Biting his lip, Hogun waited. The wait and the fear that accompanied it was agonizing. But he needed to gauge Thanos' true power in combat, he had to know what Thanos was capable of, what his fighting style would mainly compose of. Was he flexible? Could he dodge blows easily? Does he have enhanced speed?

Hogun knew nothing.

He felt as if every eye in Asgard was upon him. He tightened his grip on his mace.

Then something smashed into his back without any warning.

Pain. Blinding, burning, pain. Hogun threw his head back and screamed, but didn't arch his back. _Couldn't _arch his back.

He howled again as he felt a foot press him to the ground on his back. The pressure, the pain, it was almost too much. Liquid filled Hogun's mouth, and he was too busy screaming to care. Everything seemed draped in a haze of red to him. Another sensation filled him, and the next thing he knew he was choking on his own blood.

The foot was removed, and the pain doubled.

How had Thanos managed to move so fast? One second Hogun was still staring at his feet, which showed no sign of tensing nor readying to charge, the next Thanos had smashed one large hand into his back, effectively breaking what felt like every bone in Hogun's body, despite it only being his spine and likely his ribcage plus his innards.

Gathering the last of his consciousness and determination, Hogun raised his head and looked defiantly into the eyes of Thanos. He wanted to be able to do that before he died. Valor and honor meant nothing to him now. He just wanted to at least unsettle Thanos.

Then he flung his mace which embedded deeply into Thanos' leg before he could shift forms into pure darkness again. Thanos howled, and retreated. It makes sense for Hogun's last blow to be effective, because he was putting the strength of his whole fading life in it.

The world frayed at the edges, and Hogun knew no more.

* * *

"Mother." Loki acknowledged frigidly.

Frigga was having none of that. She opened her arms wide and pulled Loki into a warm hug, kissing his forehead. "Oh, Loki. You know?"

"About the lies? Yes." Loki responded icily, though he leaned in to the hug. With a soft click, Thor exited the chamber to give the mother and son some privacy. His comrades were waiting for him on the other side of the door, all in full battle armor, though Stark was fretting about having to add power to his strange Midgardian device known as a phone. Once Thor stepped through the door he started demanding magicians to at least provide some 'magicky power, as long as it doesn't fry his phone'. Loki was slightly amused, secretly reminding himself to learn more about Midgard when he got the chance.

"We're family, Loki. You must know that. You must never forget that. I admit that we cannot amend the wrongs we did, but let us leave that in the past and try to make new futures, yes? Please, Loki. Thor has informed me of the situation. You know that I love you as I always do. I knew about your heritage from the start. I admit that it was wrong to teach you to despise a race that has done no wrong except offend the wrong people at the wrong time through one poorly made decision. Please, Loki. I love you. You will always be my son, no matter what you choose." Frigga was rambling now, pouring out all her grief and all the things she wished to say to her once wayward son. When that elicited no response from Loki, she grew desperate. "Loki, can you not give us another chance? Give yourself another chance. Life is always worth living and you can always choose your own fate. Please, Loki. Do not hurt your mother so!"

_You cannot change is past. But you may yet affect the future._

Loki's brows furrowed. Frigga took that the wrong way and despaired. "Oh, Loki. My dear son. If I could I would go back and change all those mistakes, but I _can't_. I can only ask for your forgiveness now. Loki, please…"

She looked ready to go down on her knees and beg. The corner of Loki's mouth twitched, and he gently squeezed her hand.

Frigga looked as if a miracle had just happened. "Loki…?"

Loki smiled. "There is nothing to forgive, Mother. I do not remember most of your offences, and I must say that you have done your best given the circumstances."

Frigga looked like she had died and came back. "Oh Norns…Loki!"

She hugged her long lost son once more and then released him. "I believe that your brother wants you to join him. I must return to my spell casting too. I trust that you can watch his back well. He will heed your advice more, making your job easier. But you must heed _his_ advice too, for he's watching your back too. Fight as a team. You're both equals. Never forget this, my son."

"I won't." Loki promised, kissing her forehead.

"Oh, and," he said as he reached for the doorknob. "Love you too."

Frigga smiled, content. If she were to die this day, she would die without any regrets.

* * *

The Avengers and Loki strode towards the open gates of Asgard. Before them, lay only blood and violence.

Thor didn't hesitate to plunge himself into the bloodbath, getting some much needed release from the action, releasing all his frustrations by smashing, his favorite strategy. Loki could only sigh, trailing after Thor and duplicating himself on the way, flinging ice knives at the enemy with an almost bored look. Tony grinned, snapping some pictures with his smartphone before taking off in the suit to blast down some enemies. Steve had gotten into his uniform, which he had somehow managed to squeeze into the backpack with all the supplies, and had borrowed a sword from the armory. He was hacking at the enemies, face screwed up in disgust as the blood splattered all over him.

And Bruce…

Bruce took one look at Odin standing at the forefront of the battle, remembered everything he had done to Loki, and instantly turned green and big.

"No more bully puny god!" Hulk roared, smashing walls and battlements, scattering Asgardian soldiers as they fired at him but had no more effect than annoying flies. Odin's eyes widened as the Hulk stepped on an Asgardian soldier. "Hulk like puny god! Puny god not so puny! Puny god is not puny god! Puny god is-"

The Hulk paused, having backed himself into a verbal corner. Then he roared in frustration, pounding his fists down onto the gate of Asgard, which actually held for a moment, then bent and broke like it was nothing.

Odin took a step back, aiming Gungnir at the green beast. "Halt, creature!"

The Hulk did just the opposite. He charged towards the King with a roar, and Odin did not expect the creature to disobey his command. Usually his voice could intimidate enemies for a second or two, but the Hulk didn't even hesitate. It caught him by his beard, the one that represented his wisdom and the one he was so proud of, and flung him into the air like he was throwing a small pebble. Odin smashed into the castle walls, causing it to crumble a little. The King of Asgard sat stunned for a while, then rapidly regained his senses, but not fast enough. The Hulk stalked towards him, and promptly stepped on the proud king. Odin nearly vomited his breakfast out.

The other guards stared, dumbstruck for a moment before jumping into action and attempted to use ropes to bind the Hulk.

Note the word 'attempted'.

The Hulk snapped those enchanted ropes off like they were nothing, and instead removed his foot from Odin's chest. He growled once, and spoke again to get his point across.

"Bad daddy no more make Loki sad."

Later, the Avengers would wow over the fact that it was actually the first time that the Hulk actually _said _someone's _name,_ apart from 'Hulk'. But now was not the time.

Odin rose to his feet, face flushing red in anger and the loss of pride. Oh, how jests would be told of this moment when Odin Allfather, King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms, had fallen to a lowly beast of Midgard for making Loki sad!

Rage clouded his conscience and mind, and Gungnir was aimed at the Hulk's retreating back.

Tony saw.

"_NO!_"

The Hulk turned and saw the magenta flash of light heading towards himself. It roared its final roar, fists already stretching towards it, wanting to pound it to pieces.

Then the light connected with the green mass of flesh, and the Hulk suddenly disappeared.

In his place, on the ground, was an unconscious Bruce Banner in tattered pants that looked ready to fall off at any moment.

About to be trampled by the retreating Asgardian army.

Tony fired one last round of missiles (he would really need to restock later) and quickly flew down, scooping Bruce up in one iron arm and flying to the nearest tower he could see before starting to remove the Iron Man suit manually. Man, at times like this he really missed J.A.R.V.I.S., despite all the snark.

He nudged Bruce with his knee once he had taken off one metal boot and was now hopping on one foot to remove the other. "Hey, Brucie? Still in there?"

Bruce groaned.

"Yup, definitely still in there. Hey, Sleeping Beauty, rise and shine. Time to face another day and war!" Tony chirped cheerily, stuffing all his Iron Man suit pieces back into the suitcase, not bothering to organize them.

Bruce opened his eyes, wincing at the bright sunlight that suddenly assaulted his senses. The voice that was there along with the ringing in his ears never seemed to cease, so it was pretty clear who was there with him. "T-Tony?"

Tony put a hand to his arc reactor. "I am touched! The princess speaks my name! And upon awakening too! But seriously, Bruce, science buddy, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. Well, as fine as I can be half naked. Do you have any spare pants?"

Tony laughed. "Aw, don't be so modest. Let the girls admire your abs! Who knows, you might even get a pretty Asgardian maiden. Thor would be proud. Then again, I would think twice about marrying an alien. So, I think you just redefined the word cool. At least, Green Guy did."

Bruce dreaded what was to come. Whatever could be called cool by Tony was definitely not good.

"I mean, you just seriously beat Fury number two into the wall of his own palace, and survived a blast from creepy glowing spear thingy, and you gave Old Eye Patch quite a talking to. For Reindeer Games, apparently. I can't call him Daddy Issues now thanks to you."

Bruce stared. And gawped. Then his jaw hit the floor. Figuratively, of course.

"I'm so _dead_!" He moaned. "I just beat the most powerful man, no, a _god_ in the Nine Realms into submission? He's so going to kill me! In fact, I think he will!"

Tony grinned, pulling him to his feet and yanking him down the steps. "Nah, Thor won't allow that. He's too proud of you to even think otherwise anyway."

"That's his _dad_!"

"And you just disciplined him. Well done, Green Giant."

* * *

"Friend Hogun!" Thor roared, swinging Mjolnir as fast as she would go, smashing it into Thanos' side. "Are you well?"

"Obviously he isn't." Loki snapped, and a Chitauri took advantage of his distraction to jab him with a spear. Loki danced out of the way only to be stabbed by another sword, and dissolved into thin air. Volstagg sighed in relief to see that it was only yet another convincing illusion. Loki's illusions were so realistic to the point that sometimes even his own brother could not tell the difference.

A second Loki was hovering near Fandral's body, mouth frantically moving to form healing spells and charms, while a third and fourth Loki guarded him. There was no progress and evidently deeming in useless, second Loki waved a hand and Fandral's body disappeared to some other dimension where it would at least not be trampled over by the Chitauri. Fourth Loki disappeared now that there was no need for a guard, and the two Loki's fought back to back.

Then they heard Hogun's screams and second Loki disappeared as the real Loki lost his concentration for a moment, his eyes wide and mouth open.

"What is going on?" Thor bellowed.

"The army is retreating!" Came another call.

Loki never liked battlefields. Too many things were happening all at once and without all the details Loki could never work out a foolproof plan.

Another scream from Hogun, and a howl, filled with pure malice and pain that made Loki's hair stand up on the back of his neck. Instinctively knowing that it must be Thanos, Loki left a duplicate in his place, made himself invisible, and teleported to Hogun's side. His magic was depleting quickly, and Loki could feel the weariness start to catch up with him.

_Get Hogun to a safe place first. Rest later._

As his particles assembled themselves in his new location while deflecting light away from him, Loki evaded Thanos' feet and ran towards the limp body on the ground. He wasn't fast enough. Two Chitauri reached him first and turned him over to check his pulse. Loki dragged the water particles out of the air sluggishly, knowing that he couldn't rely on his magic for too long now. Applying pressure to the particles, he formed ice daggers and tossed them at the Chitauri with the precision of an experienced marksman. Now that his position had been given away, he gave up the invisibility and just launched himself towards Hogun.

There was a piercing pain in his side all of a sudden, and as his hands touched Hogun's face his nerves set his body alight with pain like fire, but Loki forced himself to curl his fingers around Hogun and drag them both to the healing rooms through magic pathways.

Loki registered a foreign presence that was attached to him apart from his clothes and Hogun, and decided not to transport it along, to conserve energy. But even with the precautions, why did he feel so dizzy?

Overuse of magic, he decided, as he collapsed on the floor of the healing rooms, startling the healers.

Then pain flared anew as his left side hit the floor and he was immersed in pain once more, unaware of the activity going on beside him except for the burning, blinding pain.

So much pain…

Pain, pain, _pain_…

Red hot, white hot, and finally just nothing.

Empty. Blankness. Relief.

Definitely not just the overuse of magic.

* * *

_**Next chapter, we're back in Alfheim, Freya goes off on her own to help Asgard, Freyr isn't happy, Midgard, Clint and Tasha set up a safe haven and try to contact Jane Foster and the gang, Nick Fury is furious, Asgard, the Avengers mourn, more fighting ensues, Odin Allfather recognizes his mistakes about Loki's children.**_

_**You must be wondering who died. In fact, he is dead already, it's just that you don't see it yet. His death will be revealed next chapter. Kudos to those who guessed right!**_


	3. Unsuspected Knife Wound

_**Response to reviews:**_

_**LokiisAwesome: Yeah, I did. Seriously. I'm not killing off Bruce, he's a key character in beating up Odin (not just with fists) but the Hulk had to go. But hey, he died gloriously in battle beating up Odin Allfather. Just how cool is that?**_

_**Justme (Guest): Yup, Volstagg's dead. Hogun's undetermined, Fandral's still fighting. Hmm, about contacting each other, how about I give you MY email instead? I have three email accounts, and one's specially just for talking to online friends and stuff, while the others are more private. My real name is Crystal. I'm not going to post my full name on here though. Here's the email address. Anyone else here is welcome to email me if you like: crystallau727 . I've watched the first episode of Sherlock, and it's cool, but I couldn't find the other episodes…yet. My Chinese name means pure heart, actually. I picked my English name for myself, and it was only six months ago when I discovered that that's actually a symbol for being pure and clear as crystal. I was like: o.O Hope to hear from you soon!**_

_**Gammawidow: I'm not killing off Nat, don't worry. She's way too cool for me to do that. Did the Hulk seem controlled? I don't know, I've never seen the Incredible Hulk before. And Bruce just stays in the background all the time during Avengers, so I can't really get a good grasp on his personality and the Hulk's. **_

_**CinqLuna: Hi there too! I still can't make up my mind about Hogun, but if he doesn't die, he's going to be an important character later on. Exams are over! And I actually got a half decent score! Ahaha. Thanks for the compliments!**_

* * *

_Salty Ice Crystals_

_War_

_Chapter 3: Unsuspected Knife Wound_

* * *

"My utmost condolences to you all. She died defending this realm, and her power will now become part of Alfheim. She will be remembered in honor. I cannot offer you Vaquel back, but please accept our humble token." Freyr bowed deeply, golden cloak sweeping out behind him. Beside him, Edwenlas looked half asleep, but managed a graceful curtsy and even added some words. "The stars of Yggdrasil shall bear his image when Ragnarok comes around."

"_Her._" Freya hissed, elbowing her.

A servant hurried to bring forth a small golden chest. The trembling hands of Vaquel's mother opened it, and saw a full chest of gold and silver. Letting out a cry, she buried her head in her arms as she sobbed. "I want nothing but my daughter back! Take these away!"

Freya stepped forward and gently patted the grieving mother's elbow. "We are not trying to replace Vaquel. We offer this so that you know that we grieve for her as much as you do, and we are willing to aid you in her memory."

"Thank…thank you, kind and fair lady." She choked out.

Freyr and Edwenlas said that they would return to the palace first and left Freya there. She seemed to have befriended the old elf. They were chatting about knitting patterns when they returned, and the old woman had broke down twice when Freya mentioned a pattern that her daughter particularly favored and when they came across a pattern that Vaquel was particularly talented at.

"I have no idea how she does that." Edwenlas grumbled. "We're all sad, but it's really awkward to just…go all out like that and comfort people."

Freyr raised an eyebrow at her, giving the cabbie a generous tip as he did so. "You need to learn, Las. It might be your turn one day, seeing how many people get killed these days. I could die, Freya would have to assume the throne, and the visitations would be mostly left to you. Or Freya could die and you still have to take it up in her place until I find a new wife."

"Don't say things like that!" Edwenlas' eyes flashed dangerously. "You know words can be powerful!"

Freyr shrugged casually. "Merely stating the truth and possibilities there, little sister."

"I specialize in word and musical magic, but all you know is gesture magic. Of course you don't understand." Edwenlas huffed. Freyr sat up straight. "Are you kidding? Gestures are elegant and powerful, you just don't understand the beauty behind them."

"You don't understand the magic and power behind mere words. You don't know the danger." Edwenlas shot back, shoving Freyr as they climbed the polished marble stairs. Freyr never liked it, since it was so slippery all the time. Now Edwenlas' shove sent him careening off the steps, smashing his head into the banister of the stairs.

"Not so graceful now, eh?" Edwenlas smirked, but it faded quickly as Freyr failed to regain his balance and instead bonked his head against the hard surface. All color draining out of her face, she slipped and slid back down the stairs to her brother's side. "Why do I always mess things up?" She whispered, a lump forming in her throat as she reached her brother's side. The servants stirred, and sent one runner for the healers while the others forcefully yanked Edwenlas away from the King.

"Attempted murder." One said tonelessly. "Take her to the dungeon."

Edwenlas didn't even attempt to fight back.

Then she felt an impact on the shield as strength was sapped from her body to keep the shield alive against the attack. Her head snapped up, eyes wide, and she began to struggle, wasting precious energy in the process. "No! Wait! Thanos is attacking the shield! You have to let me go! I need to get to a flute, a piano, a violin, anything!"

"You will be getting a cell." The servant repeated, and dumped her into the cell.

"The Queen is gone!" The runner panted, returning to the head servant's side. "The Queen has travelled to Asgard!"

Alfheim's King incapacitated. Alfheim's Queen gone, disobeying orders. Alfheim's Princess accused of attempted fratricide.

Thanos was still attacking.

* * *

Natasha stared.

At the room filled to the brim with anti-spy devices, anti-hack devices, sound proof wall, computers, iPads, Starkpads, wires, secure phones, radios, voice transmitters and all kinds of spy devices. There were even a few vials containing her infamous Widow Bite. And of course, Clint's beloved bow and arrows plus a few explosive ones in the middle of being replicated.

"How did you do this?" She asked in amazement.

Clint grinned. "I kind of charmed my way around a few ladies. They give mega discounts and ask no questions. And of course thanks to this little credit card. We'll have to apply for another one soon though, and transfer all the money over before pulling it into the third and final one. They might be keeping tabs on whoever's buying these stuff."

Natasha's face split into a rare grin. She threw her arms around Clint. "This is amazing! We've gone from having nothing to everything needed for a digital war in two days! Well, let's get to work."

Clint blushed like a common maiden, reveling in Natasha's hug as he set to work, sorting through various S.H.I.E.L.D. reports and erasing his digital tracks while he did so. He skipped from file to file, going at a steady but slow pace. He wished that Tony was here right now, but he didn't know where the billionaire was now. According to the Internet news reports, Iron Man was last seen in his mansion in Malibu, where he offered the reporters a beer before calling it a night and had J.A.R.V.I.S. dump them out of the house. Clint knew the truth, but he was pretty sure that the other eight realms didn't have Internet or phone access either. Pepper apparently wasn't informed, and he supposed that Tony did it to keep her safe from the Council, who had already kidnapped Natasha and him, but he really wished that he could send her an email to tell her Tony was all right. Hopefully. However, he had no way of knowing whether her phone was bugged, as the Council might still be suspecting her. From the videoed press conferences, he could see that Tony Stark's girlfriend a.k.a. CEO was falling apart at the seams, and managing Stark Industries under such stress from the Council wasn't really helping matters either. He pitied the woman. He tried to contact Thor's girlfriend, since he was pretty sure that Tony had given her a secure phone before, specially reinforced so that it won't break when Thor sat down on it. He missed the big guy. Jane didn't answer, so he left a coded message that he knew Erik Selvig would be able to crack.

Natasha was making far better progress than him, but still nowhere near what Stark's intellect would have accomplished. She was currently idling through the higher level files, scanning them with a sharp eyes to see whether anything seems out of place. Then she paused, quick as lightning she reached for the power switch, flipping the whole thing off, plunging them into darkness.

"Hey!" Clint cried. "I haven't even saved my findings yet!"

"Shut up." Natasha looked shaken. She stood and began to check and recheck every electronical device they owned. "I think I just got detected. I swear I saw Fury's face flash by for a second, and I swear, I never saw him so angry before." She started to pace the room. "Should we move? But we would leave another trail with the credit card, we should just cash in everything, but we can't cash them all at once without raising suspicion, but we don't have enough time to just sit here and cash them all separately."

"Relax, Tasha." Clint held up his arms. "Right now we don't even know whether Fury's on our side. I suggest that we pack and wait. Grab cash from the bank on separate days. Once there's any sign of the Council or S.H.I.E.L.D., we leave. And observe the chaos from afar and see whether it works out in our favor."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you become the better strategist?"

Clint's face darkened. "Loki. He had access to my mind, I had access to his for a brief period of time. Enough to tell that his childhood wasn't happy, and I hated him later on for it. I don't think he should blame all his problems on others."

"Oh, Clint…" Natasha reached out, grabbing his hand. Those days of isolation had broken through at least half her mental defenses, leaving her much more prone to expressing emotion around those she trusted. Gone was the unfeeling mask of the Black Widow.

"Well, it's okay now." Clint tried awkwardly, patting her elbow, which was the only part of her he could maneuver his hand to reach without twisting himself too much in her hug.

Natasha didn't let go of him. On a sudden impulse, she pulled him down and kissed him hard on the mouth, roughly thrusting out her tongue.

Clint was startled for a moment, then responded enthusiastically, falling onto the floor, taking her with him.

The world didn't seem to matter at that moment.

They coupled more than one time that night.

* * *

Nick Fury drove. And drove. He had no destination in mind. He just followed his primal instincts that he _needed _to get away from the Council, from S.H.I.E.L.D., from work, from the stress and worries that plagued him like flies.

He needed _out_.

Nick saw the red light and stopped the car, letting himself to be swallowed up by the mass of traffic. As long as he stayed on the move, refrained from using any credit cards and from being remembered, there was no way the Council could track him. He kept the radio in the car turned off, just in case they figured out which stolen car was stolen by him and decided to track the radio waves frequency.

He'd switched for something more casual than his normal attire, dressed in simple jeans, T-shirt and a jacket. His eye patch would draw too much attention, so he opted for sunglasses instead to conceal his deformed eye.

All his credit cards had been cashed before he disappeared, and exchanged for a purse of large bills and a whole backpack of change. No one questioned him when he did that. No one questions the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Except for the Council, and they can't get to him now. Nick is free.

He'd heard that Agents Barton and Romanova had escaped, and thought, _Good for them._

Nick had worried over them for weeks and weeks, imagining what they could be going through thanks to him while he was sleeping in a comfy bed and enjoying a salary of fifty thousand dollars per month. He wished he knew where to find them exactly, but if he could find them, that means that the Council could too. He'd waited, biding his time.

Then came the news of a breakout. Nick knew it was time.

Two days later, he received a signal on his laptop that his system was being hacked. He turned off the alarm before it alerted anyone, tracked the signal, wiped all records from the computer and disabled the alarm, before dismantling the computer and putting the most vital parts into his pockets, where he would flush them down a toilet in a petrol station later.

Then he casually strolled into a mall, bought and changed clothes, walked out, and with the air of someone who's thinking about what his wife is going to make for dinner, carjacked a black car. He left a small amount of cash there for the owner though. He would contact the poor man later on if possible and return his car, hopefully in its original condition.

He drove aimlessly for a while, hoping to throw anyone that might be following him off his trail, although he didn't see anyone. Then he headed somewhere vaguely east of his destination, then on purpose drove past it by a few miles before making a U-turn around a forest and heading back.

It was midnight by the time he finally arrived at the small village. He parked the car in the middle of a forest before settling down for a good night's sleep. He would find them. Their one mistake of choosing a village as small as this for their hideout was that everyone would remember the new faces. It would not be a problem to obtain information.

A corner of his lips quirked up as he remembered Ruse 47, the one he himself had thought up for them once he sensed their budding romance. Who knew that even Nick Fury liked to play matchmaker?

Nick Fury was furious all right. It was a cold fury though, one calm and calculated, making him more dangerous.

The Council will pay for this.

* * *

Thor was in a panic. And in rage mode, so no one dared to cross his path except for Tony, who just trailed after him, muttering stuff about spoiled princes and too much money.

"It has been half a day, and I still cannot find Loki!" He raged, smashing a beautiful vase and Bruce cringed, retreating from the room. He _did_ not need the big guy to appear right now. To tell the truth, he was amazed that the Hulk hadn't made an appearance yet, with all the chaos going on. Loki, being the God of Chaos, would have enjoyed this.

"_Relax_, Point Break!" Tony cried, exasperated. "You're not going to do Loki any good smashing what could very well have been his favorite stuff! I'm sure you'll hear from him sooner or later. Just calm down. _Havo dad, mellon nin._ For heaven's sake, what language do I speak to you when you're in a frenzy?!"

"Loki would've known what to do." Steve said quietly, nursing a cut while sitting on Loki's bed. The super-soldier had gotten his fair share of injuries, though nothing that demanded immediate attention, and Steve, being the good and caring man he was, declined the healers' help and insisted that they tend to those who needed it more first.

Thor finally slumped down, anger spent. "I wish I knew where he was. He has not been found among the dead yet, nor has Hogun, and I refuse to believe that they are there, but he isn't with the retreating army either! Could he have been taken captive by Thanos? Loki always had a knack for finding trouble. Mayhaps he-"

Tony shut him up by shoving a whole mug of ale into his face.

Thor didn't even fight it, just downed it all.

"You worry too much, pal. Just have a good drink and everything will be all right again." Tony said, patting his shoulder.

Steve frowned.

"I know, I know, don't give me all that crap about drinking." Tony waved a hand dismissively and downed another mug himself. "Ooh, this stuff is strong~ Babe, wanna try it?"

Steve blushed so red that one could practically feel steam coming off his face, and he abruptly excused himself from the room, only to run into Bruce.

"Just received-A message." He said, panting from the run. "Loki…*inhale exhale*…is injured. Healing wards. Tell Thor."

"He's currently drunk." Steve said, feeling the blush receded a little. "I suggest that you don't go inside unless you want to be…what's the term…hit on by Tony."

Bruce, despite all the stress and worry, burst out laughing. "Go and check on Loki. I'll sober them up pretty soon. You know, traditional treatment, ice cold water and all that."

Steve nodded, and left for the healing wards.

_Oh, Loki, Thor was right. What had you gotten yourself into this time?_

Steve liked the healing rooms here, actually. Well, better than the ones back on Earth. The hospitals on Earth just have that kind of depressing medical smell to them, with everything carefully sterilized, and so white, that you would think that your time is up and you had gone to heaven. Everything there just seems so somber. Even Stark would sober up once he entered a hospital.

Whereas the healing rooms here, they spoke a story of war and honor, of dying for their kingdom.

Ahem. Going into slightly patriotic mode over there.

Steve pushed open the oaken door and entered.

Moans, groans, whimpers, screams and shrieks immediately filled his ears. Steve winced. Apparently the impression he got of it at first hadn't been in the middle of a war.

None of the healers paid attention to him, occupied by the tasks they had. Every now and then, a patient would tear his stitches because of being in too much pain, or another would refuse to have magic used on him. Some jeered at the others who couldn't bear the pain which was too much for them and screamed for all they were worth. Steve shot them all a glare. None of them heeded his warning.

Feeling awkward, standing and doing nothing while being perfectly healthy apart from a few bruises, he walked up to the nearest healer, whose eyes were narrowed in concentration as she weaved some kind of spell above an unconscious golden haired man, whose skin was like bronze. "Uh, Ma'am, can you-"

The healer hadn't expected anyone to interrupt her, and jumped. She managed to steady the fading spell just in time though, and gave it a few finishing touches as she berated Steve. "What are you doing here, young man? If I hadn't been quick enough, this fine warrior here would have perished! Spells are dangerous work, and meddling while a healer who isn't as skilled as a sorcerer is may have resulted in death! Do not, I repeat, do not ever interfere with people while they are weaving spells! You might just aggravate an old injury or even open a new one, not necessarily on the patient!"

Steve backed down quickly. "I am sorry, my lady." He tried using court language as Thor had, and allowed himself a brief smile as he saw her soften. "I was just looking for a friend of mine, and-"

"Not Asgardian, eh?" She said, anger melting. "Well, that explains your foolishness. Who is this friend? I know for certain that Prince Thor is not here. If you are from Midgard, then he should be the only Asgardian you know. Unless it is another Midgardian that got hurt?"

"Well, no." Steve felt awkward, addressing Loki so formally. "Prince Loki. I was looking for Prince Loki."

The healer's eyebrows lifted, but then she tamed her expression quickly. She did it with such expertise that Steve wondered whether it was the long years at court that had trained her so.

"Prince Loki. Hmm. So His Highness has finally made some friends. Very well, Midgardian. Since I am unoccupied for the time being, during which I should take a well deserved rest, I instead choose to direct you to the royal healing wards. There, you will find it a little less…cluttered."

She was already moving as she said the words, 'royal healing wards'. Steve followed her, doing his best not to knock into any healers, especially the ones who were casting magic spells on their patients. He bumped into two, despite his best efforts, but thankfully they were well trained and ignored the sudden interruption.

The healing wards seemed less and less hectic/chaotic as they walked on, while more furnished and peaceful. Steve's brow furrowed as he caught sight of the Warriors Three huddled in a room with Lady Sif, two of them lying on beds, both looking pale and sickly, though the large one almost looked as if he was dead. Being a devoted Catholic, Steve sent up a quick prayer to God and the Virgin Mary, for God to save them and for Mary to help their parents. Finally, they stopped in front of an ornate door with Loki's colors of green and silver. Opposite it was another plainer door adorned with gold and red. The first person Steve thought of when he saw the door was Thor.

Being princes certainly had their perks, Steve thought, a corner of his mouth quirking upwards. They even had their very own, customized wards in the healing chambers.

The healer, as if reading Steve's thoughts, said, "The princes have their very own rooms down here and close to each other because they are down here way too often for our liking. Both of them have a penchant of attracting trouble, yet amazingly blessed with an abnormally high pain threshold to drag themselves back here to be patched up, then climb out of bed within five minutes and demand to see the other brother. All too often we had to carry Prince Loki from his brother's bed or drag Prince Thor down the corridors back to his own room after spending near half a day by his brother's bedside. As you may have guessed, this is where Prince Loki resides. I take my leave of you, Captain America. Prince Thor has spoke of you honorably."

Steve had this strange feeling, as if he sensed another special connection between this healer, Thor and Loki. "Who _are _you?"

The healer smiled, the faint wrinkles around her eyes that gave away her age crinkling. "I am-_was_ Prince Loki's nursemaid. One of the few that knew his true identity, for the queen had no milk to give and I had plenty."

Steve decided not to delve into her story, but stored the information in the back of his brain to be taken out again someday. "I thank you for your most gracious aid. I am your humble servant." He said, stumbling over the fancy words.

"As I am yours." The healer retreated, leaving Steve in front of the door, pondering whether to knock. If he did, he might just disturb Loki's rest, but if he didn't, he might just walk in while Loki was changing or something.

In the end, he knocked on the door softly before opening it without any invitation.

He didn't expect the King and Queen of Asgard to be there too, rising from their respective seats by Loki's bedside, startled. Years of war cultivated reflexes had Odin placing a sword by Steve's throat before he could even blink. Steve backed off, startled. Odin, registering fully in his brain that the offender was actually Steve, lowered his sword, actually looking sheepish. "My apologies, Captain of America of Midgard. I was not expecting you to…enter."

Queen Frigga looked startled at first, then gave him a smile that was as lovely as the morning glory flower. "Come in, Captain. I apologize for my husband's rash behavior, but that was what had kept him alive all these years to return to my side."

It was an amazing play of words that Loki would have been proud of. In two sentences, she had made it clear that Steve was welcome here, made a sincere apology for Odin, and then absolved the blame from his shoulders. Steve bowed respectfully and inclined his head before entering the room. "Bruce-you might know him better as the Hulk-received a message that Loki-I mean Prince Loki was hurt. I came to visit him." He used the words Prince Loki, since technically he wasn't really well acquainted with Loki, and this is the _King and Queen_ of Asgard, so a bit of formality won't hurt.

"Loki."

"I beg your pardon…?" Steve trailed off when he saw that the King and Queen were just as surprised as him. He turned his gaze to Loki, who should be resting instead of struggling to sit up and talking. Which was exactly what he was doing then.

"Loki." Frigga said, sternly but not unkindly. "Lie down and rest."

Wonder of wonders, Loki actually complied.

"You command great respect." Odin said, half smiling at Steve's surprise. "But my wife has ways of making disobedient little boys listen to her."

"I'm _not_ a disobedient little boy! I'm hardly little anymore!" Loki pouted a little, which only served to add to the impression of a young boy. Steve struggled to suppress his laughter. He could have sworn that Odin's lips twitched.

"You're seventeen." Frigga's voice brokered the argument.

Loki refused to lose. "Father of six."

Odin stiffened at that. "About that, Loki…"

"Yes?" Loki tensed too, resulting in the wound in his side sending twinges of pain through his body. He still felt protective of his children, especially with Odin. Since they haven't eaten the apples of Idunn, and Frost Giants don't have such a long life span as Asgardians, Loki knew that eventually they would out grow him. Even now, they are the same age as him.

"I have freed them and you from your bonds. You may visit them anytime you wish, and you will not have to resort to dying just to see Hela again. Jormungand, Fenrir and Sleipner have regained their shapeshifting abilities, but it seems to me that Sleipner is happy to remain in his current form, though Jormungand and Fenrir have gone to visit their sister in Jotunn form immediately. They assume that they still cannot see you, and after the war, I was hoping that you can clear things up with them."

Steve slowly and inconspicuously backed towards the door. He sensed a family moment coming. Loki's jaw was slack, nearly on the floor. At long last, he regained his silver wit and tongue.

"Tell me what happened to change your mind."

"Doctor Banner's other side is quite interesting indeed." Odin replied mildly. He leaned down, and actually hugged Loki, though not a real one, since he had to be careful so that he wouldn't aggravate the wound in Loki's side.

Loki looked like he was about to laugh and cry at the same time as he watched Odin take his leave awkwardly.

Steve smiled. "No offense meant, but I think that the Hulk actually beat some sense into Odin. I mean, King Odin."

Frigga smiled gently. "You are perfectly worthy of calling my husband by his first name."

* * *

_**We catch up on Alfheim, a traitor reveals itself, Fury reaches Nat and Clint's hideout, Thor gets quality big brother time with Loki, and the war continues.**_


	4. Aid from Alfheim

_**Response to reviews:**_

_**PhoenixofBeautyandPower: Wow, nice name! Thanks for reviewing! I know that Odin still has much more to atone for, but at least he is learning. Thanks for your kind praise, I really appreciate it. It makes me motivated to update faster. You guys are just so kind!**_

_**Gammawidow67 (Guest): Well, the thing is, I don't know where to get it. The place where I live isn't really Westernized, so we can't really buy the CD at a store. They only put out the newest ones. And with Megashare down now, I don't know how I'm going to watch the other movies. T.T But thanks for reviewing anyway!**_

_**Justme (Guest): Yeah, sometimes people just need the sense to be beaten into them, and the Hulk was the best person to do that. I am reading Bared to You right now, and I'm also following that very same author. I heard that she's going to start a horror story soon too. I really like her plotlines, it's really different, but I think the Two Worlds of A Hero makes me cry way too much. Loki seems so vulnerable in that, almost like a child.**_

_**Justme (Guest): Yahoo. I forgot that Fanfiction doesn't allow links. Thanks for being so patient!**_

_**Elaine Weasley: Cool! Not just the fact that you got an account, your name too! I knew it was you from the start, your review style is quite familiar to me. Uh, tips? Well, I didn't expect that, though I'll surely read your story. Hmm, well, for one, I don't just ignore inspirations. It may be from something as little as a glass of water, or just a pair of hands, just try to remember and record them. When I write, I just go with my instinct. Believe me when I say that I don't have a real plot, but I'm just planning who'll die, the rest I leave up to the characters.**_

_**Hekka: Check your private messaging inbox, please.**_

* * *

_Salty Ice Crystals_

_War_

_Chapter 4: Aid from Alfheim_

* * *

Edwenlas closed her eyes and slumped tiredly against the cold stone cell wall. Thanos' attacks had not ceased, and she'd focused all of her energy onto powering the barrier so that it wouldn't have to draw on her brother's precious energy. After she was sure that it would be able to stand for a while without her, she cut off her connection with the barrier and stopped for a while to rest and preserve her energy.

She hummed a quiet, lilting melody, meant to replenish strength. She made up lyrics as she went along, combining word and music magic.

Another heavy knock on the barrier startled her out of her singing. She frowned, tapping a quick rhythm out on the floor as she changed her tune to something fiercer and stronger. Her strength alone would not be enough. Edwenlas would have to draw upon the unpredictable power of music.

One had to be extremely careful with music magic. You might hear one thing in a tune, but what others hear is completely different. What it produces might be something else altogether. You would have to listen for any underlying emotions and understand the intricate makings of it. The singer/musician would have to pour the right amount of the correct feelings into it and combine it with the right tune to actually succeed in producing exactly what they wanted.

Edwenlas was having trouble with the feelings part because she tended to pour too much into it and normally it either would have an exaggerated effect, or it would just do something else other than what was intended because of the other unneeded feelings she let get into it.

This time, though, it would be her strength. She would need ever fiber of her to pour every emotion into the music, to make it stronger and fuel the shield. It would be better with an instrument to channel it, since voices could waver, crack, or just swerve out of tune, but she had no choice.

She made up the lyrics as she went, pouring emotion into the singing. Edwenlas didn't have a terrible voice, but it wasn't exactly honey from the heavens either, but Edwenlas didn't try to hold back. She didn't care about the lyrics rhyming or not, she just sang. And felt.

Thanos' attacks gradually ceased, as if surprised from the sudden onslaught of power. The cell door shuddered, then cracked.

Edwenlas blinked and focused. She stopped singing. Her mind felt tired, and just blank. The only feeling left was peace.

The elf princess slipped out of the cell and delivered a quick blow to the back of the guard's head. Since she didn't use enough strength, he was merely surprised, not stunned, and Edwenlas finally kneaded a pressure point in his neck before escaping.

She crept up the stairs, staying to the shadows, murmuring words like, '_I'm a shadow. No one can see me. They will not hear me. I will be free._' She poured magic into them, giving them a better chance of being true.

Edwenlas limited her use of magic, since the shield also meant screening of magic throughout Alfheim, especially the palace. She masked her magic too, just in case, even though they might just think that it was from a self cleaning broom or an automatic chimney brush.

Better safe than sorry, right?

She crept up to the hallways, door after door, trying not to flinch as she reached the staircase that had changed their jaunty conversation into a daunting injury. Two servants were polishing the steps, and she resisted the urge to walk up to them and scold them for continuing to make the same mistake that claimed their king.

She sidled sideways across the hall, keeping to the shadows. When she got close to the servants, she heard snatches of a conversation that interested her and Edwenlas kept listening. She was aware of the power of servant gossip.

"…making us work like mules…"

"…the Queen has run to Asgard, I heard…"

"But why leave us in the service of that donkey?!" The first servant cried out, wringing his cloth into a bucket of water, glaring at it fiercely, almost as if he was imagining it being the aforementioned 'donkey's neck.

"Hush." The second servant looked about nervously. "He's in charge now, as you say. So watch your tongue."

"Well, I still think it isn't right." The first servant grumbled, though he tuned his voice down. "The princess might be annoying sometimes, but she wouldn't mean to push the king down the steps like that. And now he's having us polishing the stairs again! What does he want? For the Queen to push the Princess down in return when she returns?"

"It might just be a ploy for power." The second servant said so quietly that Edwenlas, intrigued, almost blew her cover by moving closer to listen. "He got the royal family out of the way, the Council somehow seems to be listening to him, and the dukes are all fooled by that fact that he can get things done just because he cleans an entire palace the whole day."

"Treason." The first servant gasped. "We would all be dead because of him!"

The two servants chattered on, but Edwenlas wasn't listening. Her head felt like it would explode with the whirlwind of information.

How would a mere head servant run a whole realm? Alfheim would be doomed!

Head Servant Yashnim. She noted the name, and continued on, wincing as her feet squeaked a little against the shining floor. Luckily, everything around here seemed to be squeaking, a result of the hard polishing, and she went unnoticed.

Where could she go? She could always go to one of the other elves, who would be willing to help their princess, but they would be powerless to help her. She needed someone of high position, someone who could sway even the present commander of Alfheim.

Edwenlas knew perfectly well who. And he was the last person she would be willing to go to for help. Plus, with the shield, travelling through realms would be a lot harder, not to mention that it would set off alarms. That was how they knew where Freya went.

And once she was out, she wouldn't be able to come back until the shield was down.

The shield that three top magicians gave their lives for.

The very same guard she had knocked out earlier ran past her like a whoosh of wind. Edwenlas sighed. Apparently she didn't press that spot with enough strength either.

Alarms rang throughout the palace.

_The traitor that attempted the murder of the King has escaped! Find her!_

Attempted, huh? At least Freyr was still alive.

No choice now.

Edwenlas closed her eyes, and disappeared in a wisp of silver smoke.

* * *

"Nick!" A woman called out, and for a moment Fury froze.

_Don't look back, keep driving, ignore her, act as if you don't know who she's calling for-_

"Sorry, honey, I got delayed." A man ran to the woman, and swept her up in his arms.

Fury relaxed immensely. He sighed, shaking his head. He'd gotten too paranoid over the years, and forgot that Nicholas was a common name, and the nickname 'Nick' even more common.

_But what were the chances of two Nicks meeting in such a small town as this? Could it just be a ruse? _

_It's a one in one hundred and eighty seven chance._ He reminded himself fiercely. _It's not zero in one hundred and eighty seven._

But still, that had shattered his nerves.

Fury only needed two seconds to pull himself back together and adopt a casual air before walking up to a random shop. A pet store, he noted.

He opened the door and walked in casually, looking around at the various animals before walking up to the shopkeeper. "Do you have a cat that doesn't shed hair as much? I love pets, but my wife complains that it would be too much to expect her to clean up after it."

The shopkeeper looked lifted at the prospect of potential business. "Oh, I understand. Every cat sheds, though there's medication. Strange, though, I've never seen you before. You and your wife are the second couple that moved here this week. This town is certainly getting merry, eh?"

This information came way too easily. Fury forced a friendly smile onto his face. "Oh. Well, will the medication cost much? We just moved here and we're kind of short on cash. I would really like to meet that couple though. My wife might just like another person to chat with."

"Thirty bucks per shot. You'll have to get it once a month."

Fury shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's way too expensive. Maybe when we get settled down and earn more money. Thanks, though."

The shopkeeper wasn't going to let potential business just slip away like that. "You might visit that couple, though. From what I heard, they're pretty rich. Mrs. Hudson said they bought that mansion up on that hill without even blinking."

Fury turned and smiled at him, a genuine one this time. "Thanks, but I'm not into owing people." Finally, a truth. "Thanks for the help though."

He exited the shop before the shopkeeper could say another word.

Now he had a location.

_Wait for me, Agents._

* * *

_Ice. Ice and cold._

_Frost Giants._

_The Jotunn!_

_But are they so wet?_

"Gah!" Thor spluttered, shaking his gold mane, spraying water everywhere just like a dog. Bruce ducked behind a curtain, and came out to a very sober Thor holding his hammer and looking around bewildered whereas Tony was now passed out on the sofa.

"What just happened, pray tell, kind friend?" Thor asked, still dripping wet. He wasn't shivering from the cold though, and Bruce put it down to Asgardian immunity. "Has there been a Jotunn attack?"

Bruce sighed. Views are certainly hard to change sometimes. "Why do you associate everything cold with Jotunn attacks? You were drunk. I gave you the best medication available."

Thor looked confused for a while. "Medication?" He pronounced every syllable slowly. "I do not understand. Why would immersing myself in ice water be considered medication? Is medication not in the form of tiny round discs on your planet?"

"Just a form of speech. Forget about it." Bruce facepalmed. "Anyway, I've got news."

"Loki?" Thor perked up, nearly dumping Tony off the sofa as he nearly overturned it in his excitement. "What news? Is he well?"

"Alive, yes, but I don't know his condition. I think that you should see him for yourself."

_Alive. _Thor didn't like that tone. Still, he adopted the brightest mood he could muster in the midst of war. "Well, where is he then, if not holed up in the library or his room?"

Bruce's face made it clear that this was not the time for jokes. "The healing wards. From what I last heard, the Queen and King were there with him. Steve went there too, so you have nothing to worry about. The healers-Thor!"

For Thor had torn out of the room like his enemies were on his heels, without even looking back at Bruce. Bruce sighed, rubbing his temples, and followed. At least the big guy wasn't making this situation even more unbearable by constantly knocking on his head, struggling to come out and smash something. Bruce supposed that the Hulk already had enough fun for one day.

"Loki wouldn't die if you wait just another few seconds." Bruce muttered, but he silently appreciated Thor's need to get to Loki as fast as possible. He'd never had siblings, but he'd fantasized about it, and he at least understood a little of Thor's desire to be there for his thrice broken, now somewhat restored little brother.

_You never truly appreciate what there is until it is lost._

Thor had lost his little brother once, twice, thrice. He wasn't going to lose him a fourth time.

He burst into the healing wards, ignoring all healers completely as he pushed and shoved his way through them, paying no heed to the patients. He barreled his way through the healing halls, past the room that housed Volstagg's dead body and Hogun's lifeless form, heard Sif calling for him, but he didn't even falter as he overheard a healer reporting their condition grimly to Sif and Fandral.

Bruce followed behind, calming frazzled nerves and helping out where he could. Eventually, he forgot all about following Thor and started helping to tend to the patients with fascination of Asgard's healing methods.

The door slammed into the wall. Hard.

"Loki!" Thor boomed, voice full with relief that his little brother was well. Loki looked up in alarm as the door groaned.

Wait.

The door…groaned…?

"Thor, could you be as kind as to retrieve Captain Rogers from behind the door?" Loki snickered.

Steve came out from behind the door, pinching a bleeding nose. "Ow. It's okay, I'll be right as rain in a couple of minutes. Oh, hi, Thor, I should have guessed that only you could have enough strength to slam my face and give me a nosebleed."

"My deepest apologies, friend Rogers!" Thor looked mortified, and properly so. He looked around the room for something that could aid him, but Loki was faster and handed him a box of tissues.

"Fanks." Steve mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand and wiping away the blood with the tissue, backing out of the room. "Have your brotherly reunion then. I won't interrupt."

"Friend Steven-" Thor began, but Loki cut him off smoothly. "Look, Captain, I think it would be for the best if you stayed here with us. For one, you are our friend and comrade, which make you family too. If Thor gets overly emotional and crushes my ribs in a death hug you can rescue me and apply what you mortals call CPR in time."

Loki's voice sounded dead serious, and Steve couldn't be sure whether he was joking or not. "Uh, okay."

"Excellent. Now what was it that you wished to do so urgently, barging in here with all the fury and speed of a hyena?" Loki addressed Thor.

"Nay, I merely wished to…to see whether you are well." Thor fumbled for words.

Loki raised an eyebrow, sitting straighter in his bed, wincing as he did so. "And?" He probed.

Thor looked down, forlorn. "Hogun and Volstagg…"

Panic seized Loki. They may have not been his friends, but still, they had shared meals and laughter together over countless campfires and feasts. "Are they well?"

"Volstagg…is dead." Thor said, swallowing. "He perished bravely."

"And Hogun?" Steve asked as Loki slid down on his pillows.

"Barely. If he makes it through, he will be crippled for life."

Silence.

"I'll kill Thanos." Loki promised.

Thor simply hugged his little brother close. "I'll be at your back."

This meant more to Loki than it ever could.

They stayed like that for a few moments, until Tony burst in, panting, breaking the moment and the two brothers apart.

"Galadriel has arrived!"


	5. Alfheim is Taken

_**Response to reviews:**_

_**Gammawidow67: I'm from Southeast Asia. To be more specific, the country that's produced two planes that had accidents. I'm sure you can guess. Thanks for reviewing! Well, I can't buy it online because firstly, I don't have any money. I'm serious. No pocket money and stuff. They all go into the bank because my parents feel that I'm not qualified to handle it properly yet. Thanks for the suggestion though!**_

_**Elaine Weasley: Yup, just comparing. Really, it's just Freyr. Elf Queen, hence the nickname. About bones, yeah, I'm one of the fortunate. Had a hairline crack when I was twelve, and it hurt like…uh, Helheim? Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**PhoenixofBeautyandPower: Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, Tony does have a tendency to barge in on moments. So does Nick Fury, actually.**_

* * *

_Salty Ice Crystals_

_War_

_Chapter 5: Alfheim is Taken_

* * *

"_Las?" Freyr looked behind a tree. "Come on, this isn't funny anymore. Stop hiding. You know there's a boar loose out there, right?"_

_Freya leaned on the tree beside Freyr. "You know she's not going to fall for that trick, right?" She asked, bored. "I mean, you used it to lure me out and screamed 'Gotcha' so loud that they're going to here you even all way on Midgard."_

_A way behind them, Thor grunted. "They. Have. To. Be. Here. Somewhere."_

_A giggle floated on the wind to their ears._

"_There!" Thor shouted, and barreled over to where the giggle had come from and stopped dead in his tracks before he could smash headlong into a tree. "Wait, where are they?"_

_Freya had already spotted the duo, but said nothing. Let the boys look._

_And work their brains for a while._

"_Magic, possibly?" Freyr wondered. "Both of them are accomplished spell casters…"_

"_We said no magic in this game." Freya reminded. Thor agreed. "My brother is going to be an honorable warrior! He will not cheat!"_

_Freya facepalmed. Boys. They can't just __**look up**__, can they?_

_For, sitting on a tree branch and swinging their legs a few feet above their heads, were Loki and Edwenlas, and they were covering their mouths while laughing their heads off at Thor and Freyr's fruitless attempts to find them. Freya winked at them, and they waved back._

"_Mayhaps we misheard." Freyr was already giving up._

_Freya took pity on them and gave a hint. "No, they're right here, you're just looking in the wrong direction."_

_Both boys contemplated it for a moment, looking all around themselves, even on the ground. Then it hit them. "UP!"_

_Both of them tilted their heads only to find…_

_Two acorns, landing smartly on their noses._

"_Las!" Freyr yelled._

"_LOKI!" Thor bellowed._

_Laughing openly now, both children dropped to the ground lightly, with magic to cushion their fall. _

_The woods shall hold many fond memories of the childhood Asgardian, Jotun and Elves shared._

* * *

And that was where Edwenlas was headed now.

She was familiar with that place, and it wasn't an important place, therefore secluded. She will plan first, then head for the palace. Edwenlas needed to collect information before deciding on her next course of action.

Edwenlas landed on top of the very same tree she and Loki used to hide on, but she wasn't a child now, more like an almost full grown elf, and broke the branch upon impact, sending herself hurtling to the ground.

"Shit!" She yelled, Midgardian slang showing through.

The elf's fall was cushioned. But Edwenlas would rather it was not.

"Word magic. Ugh." She muttered, picking herself out of the pile of poop. "I'll find a way to get rid of the side effects one day, I swear."

"Water." She said, hoping that at least one good thing would come out of word magic. Nothing happened.

"Fine!" She sighed, and trudged off to a nearby river.

After she was clean and rested, Edwenlas decided to disguise herself as a servant and head for the servant quarters in the palace. The woods were technically a part of the palace, even if there were no walls around it. That's why beasts occasionally stumbled into this place in their ramblings, but the enchantments always kept them calm and docile enough to be removed upon discovery.

However, when she tried to leave the woods, she was hit by an enchantment so strong that she was sent reeling back, right into a tree trunk.

"Ow." She wiped her bleeding nose and wrinkled her forehead. Was war already at Asgard's doorstep, that they need to take such precautions?

Edwenlas tried again. This time, she gently probed the shield, sending shimmering vibrations into it. The magic signature told her that it was Queen Frigga's doing, and she could only smile. Without Alfheim's aid, there were only two people in all of Asgard capable of such a feat. The Queen herself, and her adopted son Loki Liesmyth.

However, that wasn't a name for Edwenlas. Loki would forever be known to her as Loki Friggason, before Liesmyth, Silvertongue and Laufeyson.

Edwenlas walked around the barrier, more wary of it now that she knew it was there, and only bumped into it again twice, of which one left her with a broken nose.

_Hasn't Queen Frigga detected my presence yet? She would let me through, wouldn't she? She watched me since I was young! But could it be that the Asgardians harbor a grudge that Alfheim refuses to help them? Well, I'm here now. OPEN!_

Edwenlas stuck her little finger into the barrier again. It repelled her so strongly that she was knocked off her feet yet again.

"Stupid Asgardians." She muttered, continuing on her prowl around the barrier.

The sound was small at first, like background noise, a buzzing that didn't seem to matter. But as it got louder and Edwenlas got closer, she realized that it was the sound of numerous people chit-chattering in a different language.

Then she poked her head out of the foliage, and saw the Chitauri army.

She ducked behind the trees quickly, drawing in a sharp breath. _They were close. _So close that Edwenlas finally understood the need for a barrier, and wondered why they hadn't erected more before remembering that they don't have many spell casters.

A Chitauri had spotted movement, and Edwenlas shot for a tree, hoping that the Chitauri would make the same mistake that Thor and Freyr had made then, looking everywhere but up.

The branches were strong enough to support her weight, and she managed to get behind some foliage as the Chitauri led his companions into the forest, chattering in their garbled language. Edwenlas' heart was beating out of her chest.

At long last, they decided that it must be a random animal and found an unfortunate squirrel to eat, so they concluded that it must've been that squirrel and were happy at their new found supper.

They tore the squirrel to bloody pieces with their teeth, _alive_. Edwenlas felt disgusted and ready to cry. The squirrel was just minding its own business when it got caught by disgusting beings and forced to endure the worst torture of its life before dying.

The squirrel was just a symbol. The Chitauri wouldn't just stop at squirrels. They would murder Asgardians, Jotunn, Elves, Light and Dark alight, Fire Giants, Midgardians, and so many more. They were truly the children of Death and Darkness.

Edwenlas snapped off a branch, following a sudden impulse she cannot explain. Without hesitating, she leapt down from the tree, landing on top of one Chitauri and breaking his back, while she swept the rest of the Chitauri, three of them, into a tree, where they hit their heads and fell unconscious.

Edwenlas stood, hands on hips, panting. Plain force like this had never been her specialty. She slid a dagger out from under her simple tunic and made four clean cuts. Four deaths.

She quickly hummed a soft melody, disintegrating the bodies into ashes.

That done, she looked up at the towering spires of Asgard, and smiled as she felt the barrier finally let her in.

* * *

Fury was not the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. for nothing. And yet, years of sending agents out into the field and not doing any real work himself other than try to placate the Council (Which was a full time job, by the way), had left him out of practice.

Hence his well planned strategy but rather poor executing of it.

He discreetly picked the lock with a pin he found on the roadside, then left after picking an imaginary item from the floor. He returned two hours later, plastering a sheepish look on his face, lugging a backpack. To anyone who asked him, he said that he had misplaced a box of very personal things at their house and wished to retrieve it before he went hiking.

He inserted the keys of his stolen car into the keyhole purely for show, and swung it open easily. It didn't creak, thankfully. Clint and Natasha must have kept it well oiled in case of the need for a silent escape.

Nick evaluated the house in a split second, noting potential escape routes, and then opened the front door.

It was bolted from the inside.

Nick didn't look around to see whether anyone was looking, since he might seem suspicious. He shrugged, and muttered something along the lines of, 'Stupid me, I've dropped the front door keys,' and then climbed to the roof using a nearby ladder. He climbed in through the attic window, and tried to open the door that led below, but it was bolted shut too.

Since no one could see him in the house now, and there were no security cameras that Nick's trained eye could spot, the only concern he had was to not make too much noise.

Nick took his pocket knife out and began to work.

Fifteen minutes later, he had managed to carve a hole in the door, and he used the end of a fishing pole to quietly draw back the large bolt.

Nick smiled triumphantly as the door swung open. He climbed down the ladder.

He took his time, darting around furniture and checking for any piece of useful information in case he couldn't find the duo. You couldn't trust anyone. They could be a trap, agents dressed up as them to lure anyone else who might offer them aid.

Everything pointed to Clint and Natasha's usual habits. If they weren't imposters, they must have believed themselves safe here. Well, Nick was about to burst their bubble. If Nick could find his way here without any further aid, then the Council surely could, even without men of his experience.

Still no sign of the couple themselves.

At last, a very amused Nick found them sleeping, cuddled together in a bedroom. All that caution for nothing. They looked exhausted, probably had been up all night.

Doing what, Nick didn't want to know.

He had always been a father to them, albeit a bit stern and cold. Nevertheless, still the best father figure they could get in this cruel world.

And now they're finally together. Nick couldn't feel prouder.

He quietly closed the door, not wanting to intrude, and left a note in front of the door, and left for the village, taking an extra set of keys he found in the printer. Nick had to check whether anyone had traced them to the village yet.

It wasn't until four hours later that he came flying back, clutching a wounded shoulder.

* * *

"Galadriel?" Steve looked puzzled.

"Just stop the references, Stark." Bruce said irritably. "The _Queen of Alfheim_ has arrived, and she demands to see all the magic users within the palace with their own magical signature at once. She needs to formulate a plan."

"Freya has arrived?" Thor asked incredulously. "But as I recall, Alfheim had refused to aid us!"

"The Queen feels differently, apparently." Tony shrugged. "Come on, Loki, magic user means you."

Loki stiffened. So did Thor.

"Man of Iron." He growled dangerously. "Do not presume to insult my brother in this way!"

Tony backed away, ending up using Steve as a shield. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, Thunder Boy. How is that an insult?"

"You insulted my brother for his use of _seidr_." The thunder started to back down a little, as Thor remembered that they were from a different culture and still had much learning to do on Asgard.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused." Steve blinked. "Magic is actually a great asset to us. So why would us remarking on him using such a great power be considered an insult?"

"Magic is no great power to us. Midgardians cannot understand it, that's why it seems so mysterious and great to you. But we Asgardians have gotten used to it and no longer consider it something great. However, plain strength is something that proves a man's honor." Thor ranted, giving them a lesson in magic, while Loki sank lower and lower into the blankets, until he finally just covered his ears with his pillow. Thor didn't notice.

"Uh, big guy…" Bruce tried, but was cut off again.

"Alfheim are cowards, they dare not show their faces in battle, and therefore they pursue weak goals, such as hiding themselves behind the farce of magic. To be struck down in battle is honorable, yet they would not do so. They prefer to use their womanly arts and-"

"What did you just say?" A voice hissed softly from the door. Tony quickly yanked Bruce and Steve out of the way. Let Thor face this alone. Tony wasn't going to be a part of this.

Freya glided into the room, her face set in a calm and serene expression, but her eyes seemed to be flashing fire.

"I was just educating my dear friends, My Lady." Thor bowed a little. Freya looked ready to breathe fire from her nostrils at any moment.

She cast a glance at Loki. With a swift flick of her arm, she sent the bed to the other side of the room, where the trio was huddled. "I would prefer not to involve you in this conflict, sweet boy."

Tony's mouth dropped open. "Did she just refer to Loki as sweet?"

Loki blushed to the tips of his ears.

"Aw, now I see why." Tony fake cooed as Bruce elbowed him.

Meanwhile, Freya was muttering to herself under her breath. "…see why Freyr refused to help…ignorant Asgardians…might just make the best of it…"

Finally, she looked up and snapped her fingers. Everybody except Thor winced.

"You say you do not fear magic." She began. "You think magic is cowardly because it wouldn't allow you to get hurt. Do you _want_ to get hurt?"

Thor rose to the defense. "No, but I would prefer doing that honorably."

"And why is using magic to block any different from using a shield to block?" Freya continued, as if trying to explain things to a three year old child.

"I-" Thor didn't get a chance to finish. Freya rushed on. "You hate magic, because you cannot use it. You fear it. Why is thunder magic any less honorable than other magic? Because it's showy? That only shows that you Asgardians are just a bunch of creatures that like to show off. I assume that it's not. So please explain."

Thor was dumbfounded. Wordplay had never been his strength, and Freya was a formidable opponent who had cornered him in all ways possible.

"We don't fear. To fear is dishonorable. Besides, what _can_ magic do?"

Bruce facepalmed. So honor is the root of all these. What kind of twisted values did Asgardians have? He really hoped that Odin had gotten the message that the Hulk had tried to pound into him.

Freya sighed. "You have been protected from most magical assaults by your brother. And magic has never been used against you. I shall give you a mere taste of what I can do."

Loki fidgeted in his bed, about to spring up at any moment. "My Queen…"

"Nothing unnecessary." Freya assured him, and didn't even bat an eyelash as Thor suddenly flew into the wall and smashed into it, leaving a big dent. A dent so deep, in fact, that he actually hung in it for ten seconds before slumping onto the floor.

"A good day to you. May I?" Freya asked Loki calmly, not a hair out of place. Loki nodded, and all of a sudden, the whole bed, with Loki in it, disappeared.

"I have transported him to the meeting room." She informed the startled Avengers calmly. "You may join us if you like, but I fear that you may find it a bit tedious."

Thor was still lying on the floor, in shock. He had clung to what the Allfather had taught him, and then had been treated thus. He couldn't understand. Wasn't Odin's infinite wisdom the greatest in the universe?

Which then meant that Freya was very, _very_ wrong.

But then, to slam Thor Thunderer into a wall and actually stun him…and that was only a mere fraction of her power.

Thor started to doubt.


End file.
